CEDAR CITY — The Weaver sisters of Cedar High combined for 37 points as the Lady Reds defeated Pine View Thursday night, 52-41.

Senior Dream Weaver scored 19 points before fouling out of the game in the fourth quarter, and her sophomore sister, Japrix Weaver, added 18 as Cedar improved its region record to 8-2 with two games remaining in the regular season.

The last time the two teams met, on Jan. 16, Pine View eked out a 53-49 win at home in overtime, as the Lady Reds watched a five point lead evaporate in the final 15 seconds of regulation. This time around, however, Cedar built a six-point lead by halftime and managed to stay between six and 10 points ahead throughout most of the second half.

Cedar head coach Corry Nielsen called the contest a “tough, physical game.”

“The Weaver sisters played great, on both offense and defense,” Nielsen said. “They are playing the best they have all year.”

Cedar played without senior forward Carley Davis, who suffered a concussion in a game last week and has not yet been cleared to play again. Davis said before Thursday’s game she hopes to be able to return to action in time for Cedar’s two games next week.

Starting in Davis’ place was sophomore Denim Henkel, who didn’t make any field goals, but led the team in rebounds with seven and in steals with five.

“Denim played great,” Nielsen said. “She was relentless on defense and very physical. Love her game!”

The game started out on a slow note. More than halfway through the first period, Cedar was behind 3-2. But freshman guard Logann Laws rebounded a missed free throw and put it back in to give Cedar a 4-3 lead with 3:33 left in the first.

Pine View senior guard Claire Newby swished a pair of free throws a minute later to put Pine View back ahead, 5-4. She added one more free throw a couple of possessions later, but Japrix Weaver drained a 3-pointer with one minute left to put Cedar ahead 7-6. The two teams then traded layups off steals in the final minute, with Brooke Shoop scoring a basket for Cedar and Maycee Hayes making Pine View’s as the first period ended with Cedar still ahead 9-8.

The Lady Reds then outscored the Lady Panthers 18-13 during the second quarter, with the Weaver sisters accounting for 15 points during that stretch. Each sister hit one 3-pointer and made all her free throw attempts (they sank a combined 7 for 7).

Newby finished with 13 points to lead the Lady Panthers, while fellow senior guard Saraven Allen made 11 before fouling out early in the fourth quarter. Freshman center Averi Papa grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for Pine View.

Cedar’s victory over Pine View keeps it one game ahead of second-place Hurricane in the Region 9 standings. Cedar next faces Hurricane at Hurricane Tuesday, Feb. 13, while Pine View (now 6-5 and third place in region) plays at Canyon View that same evening.

Dixie 48, Snow Canyon 34

In other Region 9 action Thursday, Dixie snapped a six-game losing streak with a 48-34 win at home against Snow Canyon.

Snow Canyon had jumped out to a 19-13 lead in the first quarter, but managed to score just 15 more points over the next three quarters as Dixie wore down the Warriors with a combination of defensive pressure and frequent trips to the free throw line.

“We came out of the gate strong. We put up 19 points in the first quarter and we were playing well,” Snow Canyon head coach Ryan Rarick said. “Unfortunately, we could not maintain that momentum.

“We did not adjust to the game and continually put Dixie on the free-throw line, where they outscored us 25-6. (It was) a tough pill to swallow.”

Dixie head coach Ryan Forsey said, “Snow Canyon came ready to play and jumped on us early, but I was really pleased with how well we stayed together and responded in the second quarter.

“We made some adjustments defensively and the girls carried them out really well.”

Sophomore Sina Schwalger scored 16 points to lead Dixie, despite making just 1 of 10 2-point field goal attempts. She converted 11 of 13 free throws and hit a 3-pointer to account for the remainder of her scoring. Junior teammate Sina Tapasa added 14 for the Lady Flyers on 6 of 12 shooting from the field.

“Sina and Sina had some good things going tonight,” Forsey said. “They really carried us, especially from the free throw line. That was a huge factor.”

Dixie improved to 3-7 in Region 9 play with its win, while Snow Canyon dropped to 5-6 in region play with the loss. Dixie next hosts Desert Hills Tuesday, Feb. 13. Snow Canyon has a bye next Tuesday and will host Hurricane in the final game of the regular season on Thursday, Feb. 15.

“We’ll have to regroup and play for some pride against Hurricane,” said Rarick, whose Warriors still have a mathematical chance of making the playoffs if they finish in a tie for fourth place in region and force a play-in game.

Region 9 players on Academic All-State team

Eight senior girls basketball players from Region 9 were recently announced as members of the Utah High School Activities Association’s prestigious Academic-All State team for the 4A classification. The cumulative grade-point average of all 21 girls on the team is a perfect 4.0. Some of the players have already been recognized during a recent home game. The entire team is scheduled to be recognized during the halftime of the state championship game in Orem on March 3.

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About the Author

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News. He covered news, features, and sports as a part-time reporter for the Times-Independent, Moab's weekly community newspaper, and has contributed stories and photos to various other media outlets. He also taught high school English, journalism, and computer classes for 12 years, and was the school's yearbook and student newspaper adviser. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters, and also have a young grandson. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.